“When God’s work in and around me seems slow or nonexistent, I’m prone to grumbling. But there are many other times too, I’m noticing, when I’m quick to grumble or complain: when I’m under stress or experiencing suffering, when I can’t be sure of guaranteed outcomes in the future, or when I’m focused on myself and want my own way.”

“If all we could see was the psychic wreckage of the Fall, we would be tempted toward despair, not only about justice for the unborn but about every aspect of the call for justice for the weak, a call for justice mandated by the life of Christ himself (Ps. 72:1-14). But the Fall is not the end of the story, nor is it the beginning.”

“These lines on my forehead, these sunspots, the lax skin under my eyes, all point to the faithful work of my Father in heaven. They point to momentary afflictions that he has used to grow unseen things within me. The inward work cannot compare to the outward. It is far superior. It is forever.”